Undead Drama Mainland
by Ojex XIII
Summary: UDI sequel. The survivors from the Wawanakwa zombie virus outbreak return to the mainland only to discover that the virus has spread there too. They soon meet other survivors who seem trustworthy... but are they?
1. Prologue

(**A/B**) Good evening fellow creatures of the night, and happy halloween... or for all the demons in the audience, happy Samhain (if you dont get this joke, its from the Comedy Central show Ugly Americans (episode: Hell for the Holidays). Check it out, its pretty good). anyway, now that Halloween is here, I can finally post the sequel to Undead Drama Island. Ive had this finished for weeks and found it hard to resist the urge to post it right away, but I managed.

So now, for your entertainment, I present Undead Drama Mainland, written by Ojex XIII and beta read by Janey1097.

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Prologue

A thick fog veils Lake Wawanakwa and its surroundings. All is silent save for the calls of birds and insects and the chopping of the waves. The luxury resort of Playa des Losers is a mere shadow of its former glory; the once lavish hotel is now dull and void of life. A thin, white silhouette of the sun could barely be seen through the gray clouds, but it was visible enough to tell which way was east or west. The resort and most of the area around the lake's shore had been completely devoid of human disturbance for weeks now… and that was about to change.

As a small wave rushed onto the sandy beaches of Playa des Losers, a raft followed after it, beaching itself onto the sand. Once it was stationary its passengers stepped off, eight total. A delinquent with a pierced face and a green Mohawk and a tanned girl that stood at his side, a blond with messy hair, a pale girl with teal hair gingerly stepping onto dry land as she half hid behind a slightly large but shapely black girl, a skinny boy, a handsome young man, and finally an Asian girl with a half scowl on her face.

"All right, everyone, you know the drill." Duncan said. "It looks like the virus did spread off the island, so we're going to have to search the resort for supplies and survivors. Leshawna, Bridgette, and Gwen, you guys go find food. Chris, Cody, and Heather, you find a working car. Preferably diesel. Courtney and I will look for weaponry."

"And some new clothes." Courtney added. "I still haven't gotten used to the stench of these rags that I've been wearing for the last month."

"Wait! Who put you two in charge?" Heather demanded.

"You got a better plan, Queen Bee?" Chris asked as he grabbed Heather's arm and half dragged her towards the parking lot, quickly followed by Cody. The remaining five headed into the building before splitting into their separate groups.

Duncan and Courtney began searching the building room by room for clothes and weaponry, having much more success with the former than the latter. Courtney had already stolen several suitcases full of outfits that she thought would fit someone in the group. Duncan, while liking the idea of something to wear that wasn't caked in dirt and stink, was much more interested in finding new means of defense, preferable something that went boom and shot lead.

"Nice place." Duncan said as he kicked in the door of the only room on the top floor.

"This must be the suite for the guy that owns… owned the resort." Courtney suggested.

"Okay, if there's going to be guns anywhere in this place, it's here." Duncan said with a grin.

"Definitely." Courtney agreed.

They began searching the suite from wall to wall. Duncan started with the personal kitchen while Courtney went straight to, what else, the closet. As she looked through the various garbs hanging in the closet, she could hear Duncan rifling through pots and pans in the other room.

"Boys and their guns." She chuckled. "Then again we're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Bullets, food, and shelter are probably worth twice their wait in gold right now."

As she pulled the last item aside, Courtney noticed a small, rectangular crack in the closet wall. Curious, she reached out and pushed on it. It sank slightly into the wall and the back wall rose up into the ceiling. What she saw brought a twisted smile to her face. "Oh Duncan!" she called over her shoulder.

He came over to her carrying a cast iron poker for the fire place and a frying pan. "Best I could find." He said. "Not a gun in this place. Not even an antique mounted on the w—holy shit!" As his eyes gazed up to what Courtney had found, his jaw dropped. Behind the back wall of the closet was a panic room with walls practically hidden behind mounted guns of any type he could think of. Courtney gave him a smug grin. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?" Duncan finally said.

"Yes. But it's been a while since you've… shown me." Duncan just grinned and Courtney took his hand and led him over to the bed. "But we'd better make this quick, all right?"

"Quickie is better than nothing." Duncan agreed.

Down in the kitchens Leshawna, Bridgette, and Gwen had found plenty of food. The problem was finding food that hadn't spoiled already and likely wouldn't spoil anytime soon. So far they hadn't found more than a dozen cans of soup, vegetables, and gravy. Between the eight of them, that might last a day at the most.

"There's got to be more around here that won't go bad." Leshawna growled as she searched cabinet after cabinet.

Gwen sighed as she closed yet another cupboard door and patted her belly. The baby inside of her was starting to take its toll. She hadn't eaten well in over a month, and because her body dictated that the baby came first she was starting to suffer the consequences. If she and the child were both going to survive, she needed a better food source… but the problem was, with the possibility that it might already be infected with the virus, she wasn't sure if she wanted it to survive.

"Here."

Gwen turned her head to find Bridgette standing there, offering a can of corn and a can opener to her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Offering you food, what's it look like?"

"But what about the others?"

"You're eating for two. You're entitled to a little more, now eat." Bridgette said, thrusting the can and opener into the goth girl's hand. Gwen smiled and shook her head before stabbing the blade of the opener into the cans top. Once she had it open, she lifted it into the air. "Here's to me and my stupid decisions." She said before putting the can to her lips, drinking the strangely sweet tasting liquid and chewing on the uncooked corn.

"It wasn't a stupid decision." Leshawna said.

"How do you figure?" Gwen questioned.

"Trent was dying, girl." Leshawna explained. "You just wanted to make his last day worth living."

"Yeah, and look what it got me into."

"Yeah, but ask yourself this, Gwen." Bridgette said. "Do you think Trent would be right at your side if he were still alive?"

Gwen didn't even have to think about it. "There's no doubt in my mind."

"Then I think you owe it to him to go through this… to carry on his spirit."

Gwen turned away from her blond friend and looked down to the ground. "But what if… what if it's infected when it's born?"

Leshawna placed her hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Then we know what we have to do."

Outside, in the parking lot, Chris, Cody, and Heather searched through the various vehicles looking for something that would fit them all, the dense fog making this a bit difficult. Cody proved quite useful here, as he was able to the model, manufacturer, and year of most cars pretty accurately. The problem was finding a vehicle which ran on diesel, as Duncan had suggested. Cody agreed that using a diesel vehicle would increase their chances of finding fuel, given how many diesel vehicles there were as compared to those that ran on unleaded, not to mention that diesel would go a lot farther on the gallon. But for that same reason there was a chance they wouldn't be able to find what they wanted.

"That's not what we want either." Cody said, referring to the VW Bus Heather had just pointed out.

"What the hell! Why don't they make more of these things?" she demanded.

"Because diesel is expensive." Cody explained. "Most recreational vehicles don't run on it. It's mostly truckers and farmers that use it."

"Well then let's find a semi." Heather suggested.

"In a luxury resort? I don't think so." Chris said.

Heather growled loudly and kicked the tire of a nearby truck. Cody looked over to said truck and smiled. "Nice going Heather! That's exactly what we're looking for."

"It is?" she questioned, looking over the old pickup, a 1949 Ford F1.

Cody practically ripped the driver's side door off its hinges and got under the steering wheel, sifting through the various wires until he found the ones he was looking for. "Now we just cross these two wires and…" With a loud rev the engine sprang to life and Chris and Heather praised the skinny boy as he proudly exited the truck. "Okay, looks like it's a stick shift so…" He was cut off by bloodcurdling sounds coming from the surrounding woods, a mixture of various hisses, snarls, and roars that all came from the same unmistakable beast.

"Shit!" Chris exclaimed.

Cody quickly uncrossed the wires in the truck and the trio made a beeline for the hotel, rushing as fast as they could. By the time they had slammed the doors behind them the zombies were already emerging from the tree line. They immediately rushed for anything heavy that they could move and began barricading the doors, despite knowing that that would only buy them so much time.

"The hell is going on?" Leshawna demanded as she, Bridgette and Gwen exited the kitchen.

"We've got company!" Heather explained. "Now help me move this desk!"

By the time Duncan and Courtney had reached the lobby floor, Courtney carrying two suitcases full of clothes and Duncan with two pillow cases full of fire arms and a bed sheet full of ammunition, the zombies were nearly at the door, now barricaded with practically everything that could be moved. Knowing immediately what was going on, Duncan distributed his haul, everyone getting at least two larger rifles, two hand guns, and plenty of ammo. Duncan, Chris, and Leshawna stood closest to the front door, waiting for the zombies to break through it and begin tearing down their barricade before they began shooting. The others waited behind them, anxiously awaiting the attack. But just as they heard the glass of the front door shatter, there was more of the same sound farther away, followed by several watery splashes.

"Damn! We forgot about the pool!" Chris realized as he, Duncan, and Leshawna began firing. "Heather, Gwen, there should be a ring of keys at the check in desk! Find it and lock the main entrance to the pool and the locker rooms!"

"Which key's the right one?" Gwen questioned as she found the key ring, finding that it had at least twenty keys on it.

"How should I know?" Chris demanded as he blasted a zombie's skull off. "You're lucky I know as much as I do!"

Gwen and Heather took off running, making a mad dash for the pool area. They burst through the door which led into a mall hallway, three more doors inside of it leading to the pool and the men's and women's locker rooms. Heather grabbed the keys from Gwen and ran to the pool entrance, beginning to go through the keys until she found one that fit the door lock, only to scream in disappointment when it didn't lock the door. She kept going through more until she found the right one, just as a zombie rammed its fist through the small glass window. Heather screamed and fell back onto the ground, dropping the keys. Gwen grabbed them and went over to the women's locker room, quickly finding the correct key and locking it. But when she went to lock the men's, she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and dropped to the floor.

"What the hell are you do—"

She was cut off as a zombie woman broke through the door of the men's locker room. The two girls froze in terror as the undead beast snarled and dove at Heather. Heather closed her eyes, waiting for the end, but only felt something wet and sticky hit her face as a gunshot went off. She opened her eyes to find Bridgette standing in the door way, shot gut in hand. "Well don't just sit there!" she ordered. "Grab the keys and lock the damn door!" Heather immediately followed her command and they left back for the lobby, locking the fourth door behind them.

Upon their return they found that Cody and Courtney had joined Duncan, Chris, and Leshawna in blasting zombies away from the front door.

"We need to think of a plan." Heather said. "Those cheap hardware store locks won't hold them off for long."

"I vote that we keep shooting them in the face." Duncan suggested, as he did just that.

"Sounds good to me." Chris agreed as he followed Duncan's example.

"Think logically, guys. We don't even know how many are out there and we're going to tire or run out of ammo eventually."

"Not likely." Duncan said. "I only snagged what I could carry. There's at least a thousand more boxes of ammo up there. The guy that owned this place must have been seriously paranoid… or in league with the mob."

Leshawna was going to say something back, but an earsplitting clanging came from the kitchen before she could speak. "Damn! There must be a door in there too!" she growled.

"We've got to run for it." Courtney said. "Up the stairs!"

"Are you nuts?" Gwen demanded.

"We'd be cornering ourselves!" Heather agreed.

"You got a better idea?" Courtney snarled. At that moment a trio of zombies burst through the kitchen doors and into the dinning area, only one room away. "Move!" she shouted, turning to them and blasting the three as the others made a break for the stairs, following after them quickly.

They only made it up two flights of stairs before they heard the horde outside finally break through their barricade. Acting on instinct, they hid in the nearest room, moving the bed and to block the door and then stacking some other furniture on top of it before moving to the back of the room with their weapons aimed at the door. When they heard the first thump on the door Bridgette flinched and turned her head. She noticed that they had their backs to a sliding door with lead to a balcony which was just above the pool. "Guys, I've got an idea. It's insane, but it could get us out of here!"

"Well, spit it out already!" Cody demanded.

Bridgette opened the sliding door and looked over the edge of the balcony. She grinned. "The pool area's zombie free! If we can jump into the water we can make a break for the parking lot and get the hell out of here!"

"No arguments from me!" Leshawna agreed as she jumped over the edge, landing in the deep end of the pool. The others quickly followed after her, Chris going last and jumping just as the zombies broke through the door. One all eight were out of the water they headed quickly to the parking lot, found the same truck, and Cody hot wired it.

"Cody, do this one too!" Duncan said, pointing to an old Volkswagen.

"Why?" Cody questioned.

"Just do it before I break your arm!" Duncan ordered.

Cody did as ordered and hot wired the Volkswagen. Duncan quickly pulled it out of its parking spot and moved it so that it was aimed straight at the hotel. He then opened the trunk, grabbed the spare tire from it, and sat it down on the gas pedal. The car went speeding off directly at the resort and Duncan aimed his gun. Just as it broke through the wall to the inside he fired. The bullet smashed into the car in less than a second and the whole building went up in flames. The pained screams of the zombies, now either incinerated or burning to death, could be heard for miles.

"And that…" Duncan said as he cocked his gun. "…is how you take care of that." Courtney then ran over to his, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him firmly.

"That was amazing, Duncan!" she exclaimed after pulling away. "How did you do that?"

"I took cars apart all the time back home. Aiming for the gas tank was no problem."

"Still, truly awesome, Duncan." Gwen agreed, patting him on the shoulder.

"All right, enough already. You can all bow to your savior once we're on the road." Heather said. "Now, can anyone drive stick?"

"I can." Bridgette offered. Everyone gave her a surprised look. "What? That's my truck we're using."

Bridgette climbed into the drivers seat, Leshawna taking the passengers side, while the others jumped into the bed of the truck. She took a few minutes to remember how her truck worked, but soon got it into first gear and they were off in search of civilization. The zombie apocalypse had taken its toll on each of them, and they knew this was only the beginning. If Playa des Losers was infected, then there was no question that the rest of Muskoka, and likely Canada, and possible the rest of the continent or the world had been hit as well. They knew that they all might not survive, but the month on Wawanakwa had made them tough and they were willing to take that risk.

If it meant finding other people and possibly a safe place, the road was where they belonged.

Undead Drama Mainland

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(**A/N**) so, did you all enjoy the prologue? I hope so, because the first chapter probably isnt happening too soon. be patient with me, this is the fifth story I have on my plate right now and that along with school and looking for a new job makes me very busy (also, theres the fact that I watch Doctor Who every weekday at 5 and various other shows throughout the week).

however, you should all be happy to know that Ive got more than half of the next chapter of TDD written and with any luck Ill have it up later today (anyone who reads this right away might think its still saturday, but I posted this at midnight so technically its sunday oct 31)


	2. Chapter 1

(**A/N**) okay, so this chapter isn't entirely new. its just a redo of the one I removed, updated to fit better with TDRI, which is finally airing (in canada). no major changes other than a few character discriptions and names.

also, sorry it took so long to get this out but... I got skyrim for christmas X). not as a gift mind you, bought it my self and I have to say... its th best 60 bucks Ive ever spent. it just doesnt stop. Ive played it every day for the last 3 weeks and everyday I discover something new. if you havent picked up this game yet, do it now... oh, and this also got me interested in doing an elder scrolls fic.

anyway, Im wanting to get another chapter of this up tomorrow to make up fro the long wait for this rather lack luster prize. no promises though. Im going to try to be more diligent with my writing from now on, but Im still really busy with school (why the hell did I sign up for German 101 lol). so anyway, enjoy.

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Chapter 1

Five days.

Five long days they'd been traveling the country side, searching for any sign of civilization. They'd found a town once, one with residents who were smart enough to have walled off their little village before the virus reached them. The travelers had tried to enter the town, and maybe make a life there, but they were turned away at the gate. "Outsiders ain't allowed." The man had said, his finger on the trigger of his shotgun. They had been kind enough to supply them with food and some more ammunition, but entering the town was not happening. That was day two. Since then they'd found more towns but they were completely devoid of life… but not so much of the undead. They'd had more than a few shoot outs since leaving Playa des Losers and Duncan's bed sheet full of ammo didn't last as long as he'd thought it would.

Gwen's pregnancy was still unknown to anyone except Leshawna and Bridgette. Five weeks in her belly hadn't started to grow yet which she was thankful for, wanting to keep it a secret from the others as long as possible. Bridgette and Leshawna often snuck her extra food from their rations, which she felt bad about but they all but forced her to take it and watched her until she ate. They had encouraged her to tell the others so that they would understand her dilemma, but Gwen always refused. They would immediately know that Trent was the father and they knew that he had been infected. If they made the connection and realized that the baby might be infected… she didn't want to find out what they might do.

On the fifth day the finally ran out of gas, ironically near a gas station which had been completely cleaned of gasoline, unleaded and diesel. It was Cody that spotted the sign. A typical green road sign that told of specific cities and how far they were from the current location. It was sitting at the foot of what had once been the poles that supported it. The actual name of the city had been spray painted over and it now read, "Fail City, 5 kilometers."

"What do you guys think?" Cody asked. "Could be a lot of supplies there. Gas too."

"Yeah and there could also be a lot of undead brain munchers." Chris pointed out. "Cities are dangerous business."

"Let's take a vote." Courtney said. "I say we go. If there's any chance of finding supplies and food we need to take it, regardless of the dangers."

"I agree with Courtney." Duncan said.

"Only because she's been rocking your world." Chris chuckled. "I say we head another direction."

"I'm with Chris." Heather agreed. "There will probably thousands of zombies in the hordes of a large city, and we're limited on bullets."

"I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but I agree with Heather." Leshawna said, suddenly wanting to brush her teeth afterwards.

"I've got to agree with Courtney and Duncan." Cody said.

All eyes turned to Gwen and Bridgette and immediately Gwen's thoughts turned to the baby. On the one hand supplies and food were definitely needed, and in a large city there was more than a good chance of finding enough food to last them a couple of months, including Gwen's extras for the baby. On the other hand there was no doubt that it would be teeming with zombies, and she was becoming more vulnerable day by day. This early on it might not be a problem, but one slip up or one complication could mean the end for her and the unborn child. She suddenly found herself wondering if zombies could get pregnant or carry a baby to term, but she pushed the foolish idea out of her head.

"Let's do it." She said, before looking to Bridgette.

"Well…" the blonde said, pondering for a moment. "If I say no it'll just be a tie so…" she trailed off and started walking down the road, the others following her without question.

~FIVE KILOMETERS DOWN THE ROAD~

"Sir, we've got eight incoming. Five female, three male."

"Are they infected?"

"Negative. These guys are armed to the teeth. At least two guns each and one of them is carrying… I think it's a pillow case full of arms. Another's got a bed sheet full of ammo."

"Military?"

"Don't think so. Mostly pump action and hand guns. Nothing automatic. No uniforms either."

"Hmm… All right. I'll send someone to check them out. Good work, Brick. You too, Lightning. Over and out."

Brick turned off the walkie-talkie and shoved it back in his pocket. Brick was a young man, not even out of high school before the outbreak. He was muscular, had a rather large chin, and his hair was buzzed down into a crew cut. He wore a tight, military green t-shirt, long blue jean shorts, combat boots, and a pair of dog tags around his neck. Brick was a good soldier, in mindset, trade, and blood. He'd come from a long line of military men and women and was well on his way to joining the armed forces after graduation, but the situation he and his companions currently found themselves in cut his plans short. He returned to the window with his binoculars to continue watching the travelers. He and Brick were inside of an abandoned house, second floor, atop a hill just outside of the Fail City. They'd been put on North-West Sentry duty, North-East and South being occupied by others.

"So what do you think the Boss Man have done with these new drifters?" Lightning asked. He was tall, black, hair cut short; wearing a dark blue and yellow jersey with a "1" on it and a pair of cargo shorts. Like Brick, he wasn't even out of high school when everything began. He had been the typical jock back in those days, playing on the football, basketball, and baseball teams at his school. He was there to watch the door in case any of the undead decided to crash the party.

"Probably the usual." Brick said. "We'll watch them until they leave and if they try to take anything we need we run them out of town."

"Yeah, but the Boss Man could decide to be generous and let them stay, like… like those other two." Lightning growled as he clutched his gun tighter. "Still don't trust them."

"Oh get over it." Brick said. "The only reason you don't trust them is because they almost shot you. They're all right. And one of them can actually help with Cameron's work."

Lightning snorted. "Please. That voodoo the shrimp has been working on is a dead end. You can't cure this. It's the goddamn apocalypse, man!"

"You didn't do too well in school, did you?"

"Did well enough to stay on every team I was on and carry them to victory."

Brick rolled his eyes and turned back to the window. "Whatever." He gazed through the binoculars, spotting the travelers again, but this time he noticed something interesting. "Hey Lightning, come check this out."

Lightning came over and took the binoculars from him. "What am I looking at?"

"Take a good look at our gaggle of drifters." Brick instructed. "You remember those two girls that the new guys are always talking about?"

"Yeah." Lightning said, eyeing the group through the window. "What does that have to do with…? Oh! I see what you're getting at. Well… this just got interesting."

"Indeed." Brick agreed, pulling out his walkie-talkie. "Sir... We've got something interesting here."

~FAIL CITY~

"What are the fucking odds?" Duncan asked, cringing at the gruesome sight before them.

"This can't be accidental." Chris said. "Someone must've put that shirt on it and then impaled it on the sign post."

What they were referring to was a decaying human body which had either fallen onto or intentionally been skewered with a sign post. It was dressed in a black T-shirt with the words "Dead End" printed on it and one of the arms had been position in a way that it pointing into the city. It was a disturbing sight and a clear warning. People weren't wanted here.

"Is it too late to change my vote?" Bridgette questioned.

"Yes." Courtney said as she began the march forward, the others, some reluctantly, following her.

Fail City was what anyone would expect after seeing a zombie apocalypse movie: completely abandoned, cars in the streets, an eerie wind blowing around every corner, the moaning and groaning of the undead in the distance, and of course the foreboding feeling that they were being watched. They made their way through the broad, main roads of city, knowing that the back roads and allies were likely death traps waiting to happen. At first all they came across were office buildings and factories, the latter of which could make good temporary shelters once they stocked up on food and supplies. As they continued deeper into the city, the sounds of the undead became more prominent as did that foreboding feeling. But then it seemed that luck had finally found them.

"Look! A Wal-Mart!" Gwen announced.

"Don't bother." Cody said. "It was most likely… actually, almost definitely picked clean the second the zombie virus was confirmed by the government. What we need to do is find…" Cody stopped as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "No way…" He took off running down the road, parallel to the Wal-Mart but not towards it. The others followed after him, having absolutely no idea what he was up to. He stopped at the building directly behind the Wal-Mart, a big smirk on his face. "They actually did." He chuckled.

"What are you talking about, Cody?" Leshawna asked.

"That's a Wal-Mart **Distribution Center**." Cody explained. "Almost no one knows where these are and they're usually stocked with enough goods to fill ten stores. That is where we're going to grab what we need. There's no doubt in my mind. Even if it was raided, it was only by a few people and I doubt they took more than they can carry."

Taking his word for it, everyone rushed to the front door of the building. Duncan broke the window and unlocked the door. They stepped inside and made their way through the small office area and soon found themselves in the main part of the facility, where everything was stored. Cody was right, it was filled with all kinds of food, supplies, and even guns and ammo.

"Cody, I would kiss you but I don't swing that way." Duncan said before running into the maze of shelves and refrigerators, intent on finding the ice cream. Courtney quickly followed after him, as did Chris, Heather, and Gwen. But Leshawna and Bridgette stayed behind and both gave the skinny boy a quick peck on the cheek at the same time before rushing after their friends.

"And the meek have inherited the earth." Cody chuckled before following after the two girls.

An hour later the group had filled five duffle bags that they'd found with any and all canned food and other foods that wouldn't spoil anytime soon, especially cereal and junk food. The best part was that they were still working on filling at least three more. That much would last them a month, if not longer, if rationed properly.

As Gwen and Bridgette worked on filling the sixth duffle bag with canned vegetables, Duncan walked up to them carrying two cardboard cases of drinks under his arms. "Soda or alcohol?" he asked them.

"What?" Bridgette questioned.

"Soda…" He lifted up his right arm slightly, which carried a case of Dr. Pepper. "… or alcohol?" He lifted the other, which carried a case of beer.

Bridgette didn't even hesitate. "Pop." She said. Duncan set down the case of beer and ripped open the Dr. Pepper box, handing her a can.

"What about you?" He asked Gwen.

"Um… do you have any bottled water, actually?" she asked.

"Let me check." Duncan said, walking off.

Bridgette smiled at her. "Smart choice." She said.

"Everyone knows alcohol can harm unborn babies." Gwen said. "And soda is bad enough for you as it is."

"True." Bridgette said, opening her can. "Not drinking pop does make about a five pound difference at the end of the week…" She took a swig, and sighed as the sweet liquid slid down her throat. "But it tastes so good."

At that point Duncan returned with Gwen's water. "Thanks, Duncan." She said.

Duncan proceeded to pass out refreshments to everyone else, only Chris and himself accepting the offer of alcohol. Then Duncan raised his drink. "Attention, everyone. I'd like to make a toast." He said, causing Courtney to chuckle. "First, to us for having survived this fucking long. But also, to Cody, for if it weren't for him we'd be starving right now."

"And to me and my people, for having let you take as much of our food as you have."

Everyone turned their attention to the nearest end of the isle they were in, finding a woman standing there. She had tanned skin and long, pinkish purple hair braided down to her waist. She wore a yellow tank top and tight blue jeans and she held a sawed off double barrel shot gun in her right hand, pointed into the air. Duncan immediately reached for his gun, but quickly froze as he felt the muzzle of a hand gun pressed against his back. The wielder of this weapon was a black teenager, about as large as Owen was, with a soul patch under his lower lip and a stern look. He wore a dark red baseball cap backwards, a black leather jacket with a red hoodie underneath and a white under shirt below that, and a pair of jeans. Before anyone could go to Duncan's rescue they heard the clicking of another gun behind them. The third intruder was a girl, same age as the other two, with shoulder length blond hair. She wore a gray sweat shirt and sweat pants.

"So here's the plan," the pink haired girl continued. "We're not completely heartless, so you can take one bag and we won't have any problems so long as you leave town."

"So, what? You just get to lay claim to everything in here while other innocent people starve to death?" Courtney demanded.

"As a matter of fact, we do." The blond said, pointing her gun at Courtney. "So why don't you take what we've offered you and move along?"

"Let me handle this, guys." Chris said, slowly moving over to the pink haired girl. "Hi." He said with his signature smile. "I'm Chris McClain. Famous TV star. Hosted _Cooking with Chris_, almost won a recent figure scatting competition, voiced Scratching Post in the _Cats Don't Talk _movies. Maybe you've heard of me."

"Nope." she said, lowering her gun and pulled the trigger, sending a shotgun slug flying right past Chris's head faster than the speed of sound. "Now back the fuck up!"

"What?" Chris shouted.

"Idiot." Heather growled.

Cody pulled Chris away before going back to talk to the pink haired girl. "Are there more of you?" he asked.

"What?" the pink haired girl asked.

"Clearly this isn't your base, just a storage facility. You live somewhere else… are there more of you there?" she eyed Cody suspiciously, trying to figure out his angle. "Look, if there are more of you than us, then you have a right to more of the food. It's only fair. Maybe we could speak to your leader, work out some kind of deal?"

After a few seconds of contemplation, the pink haired girl nodded to her larger companion and he tossed her a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "You're actually listening to this guy?" the blond demanded.

"He has an honest face." She responded, putting the walkie-talkie up to her ear. "Hey, G, you there?"

"What's up, Sierra?" asked a voice from the other end, male and strangely upbeat.

"Me, Jo, and B have a few guests cornered at the Fridge." She explained. "They want to meet the boss. Ask him if it's cool if we bring them home."

"Two seconds." The voice said. He didn't speak again for about thirty seconds. "Boss says it's cool, but keep your guns on them until you get here. He's calling in the others from the field just in case they try anything."

"No problem." Sierra replied before tossing the walkie-talkie back to B. "All right. Let's move. And I want all of your hands where I can see them… leave your guns."

They all dropped their weapons and held their arms at their sides. "March." The blond, Jo, ordered.

As they walked, Leshawna hung back by Cody. "Thanks for saving our asses back there." She whispered. "How do you always know exactly what to do?"

"Are you kidding?" Cody questioned. "I've read more books, seen more movies, and played more video games about zombies than most of you have probably heard of. If there's such a thing as an expert at this stuff, I am one."

It was when they took their first steps outside and into the street that things got complicated… well, not so much complicated as deadly. Jo was concentrating so much on making sure that their prisoners didn't set a toe out of line that she failed to see a car and bumped into it. As soon as the alarm sounded the undead hidden throughout the city began to wail and shriek. "Jo!" Sierra shouted, turning to her companion.

"Sorry!" Jo apologized.

Sierra kneaded her temples giver her order. "Everyone back inside! You guys grab your guns and meet us at the second floor balcony. I'll call for back up."

Everyone ran back into the building and Duncan and the others immediately went for their guns, grabbing them and then heading for the portable staircase which Sierra, Jo, and Silent B were racing up. The upper level was just a railed off platform going around the perimeter of the building, likely used by supervisors to oversee their employees back before the virus outbreak. Chris was the last off the stairs, the zombies breaking into the storage area as soon as he set foot on the upper level. B dove down to the floor and grabbed the portable staircase, pushing it over to remove the zombies only means of getting to them.

"How are we supposed to get down now, you jack ass?" Heather demanded.

B just flipped her off.

"Okay, guys. It's going to be a few minutes before the cavalry arrives, so we're going to have to hold our own for a while. Take out as many as you can. We've got to make Scott, Sam, and Dakota's job as easy as possible."

Everyone took their position at the railing, guns in hand, and took aim. The floor below had already been flooded with the undead, some having caught the scent of frozen meat and trying to figure out how to open the freezer door. Heather, using a scoped hunting rifle, took aim at one of these individuals and took the first shot. The bullet caught the beast just below the neck and dropped it to the ground, but the sound of the gunshot had also caught the attention of the rest of the undead. The horde began to frenzy below them, making aiming unnecessary and the survivor's job much easier. They began firing blankly into the horde, taking down a zombie with every bullet but there was no end to them. For every one that went down two more took its place.

It was with the sound of clanging metal that they became distressed. "Oh no!" Sierra panicked as she looked down through the hole in the floor. Some of the zombies had found the portable staircase and were trying to push it back up to get to them. "Since when are zombies so god damn smart?" she demanded. "Anyone who's got a scoped rifle, trade me guns."

Heather handed over hers and Sierra began picking off the beasts going for the staircase. But it seemed a fruitless venture, as every time she shot one it had been replaced by the time she'd picked off the rest. "Zombies," shoot, "shouldn't," shoot, "be," shoot, "this," shoot, "organized!" shoot.

"You have no idea." Gwen said.

"Where do they keep coming from?" Bridgette questioned.

"My guess, the local grave yard." Jo said.

"The virus works on already dead bodies?" Leshawna asked, shocked.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jo questioned.

"Shit! I'm out of ammo." Sierra cursed.

"The rest of us have about five rounds, each." Courtney announced.

"So what do we do?" Heather snapped, using her final bullet.

It was then that Sierra heard something outside. A kind of revving sound along with the rat-tat-tat of an automatic rifle. She smirked. "We enjoy the show."

Suddenly a garage door began to open just below them and an engine roared, a box truck charging inside once the door was open and crashing into the crowd of zombies. A hatched opened on the top and a red headed boy wearing a white tank-top and long, baggy blue jeans popped out with an automatic rifle in hand. He began firing wildly into the horde as the undead began clawing at the box truck. A second hatch opened and a thin girl popped up, long brunet hair, a pink to, slightly darker pink jeans, and a pair of red sunglasses.

"There they are!" she called, once spotting Sierra and the others. She ducked back down into the truck and climbed through the small door into the front. "Sam, back up about twelve feet, just below the balcony. They'll be able to jump on top of the truck and climb in through the hatch. There's eleven counting Sierra, Jo, and B."

"No problem, baby." Sam agreed. Sam was a slightly overweight boy with short, curly, light brown hair as well as some fuzz growing on his chin. He wore a light yellow shirt with a yellow and orange horizontal stripe along the chest and an orange collar, a pair of blue jean shorts, and glasses. Sam shifted the truck into reverse and lightly hit the gas, happily running over any zombies that happened to be behind them.

"Hey, take it easy when you run those things over!" Scott called from the back, still shooting zombies from the hatch in the roof. "You're throwing off my aim! Dakota, more ammo!"

Dakota grabbed more ammunition for Scott and climbed back up through her hatch, handing the bullets to her friend before calling to the others. "Okay! It's only about a five foot drop! Just jump on top and climb in through here." She then went to rejoin Sam in front.

Bridgette was the first to make the jump, followed by Courtney, Cody, Chris, and then Heather. "C'mon, Gwen!" Leshawna pleaded. "You've got to go next!"

"I c-c-can't." Gwen stuttered. "What if I hurt… it?"

Leshawna groaned. "C'mon. We'll go together." Together the two girls climbed over the rail and grabbed each other's hands. "On three. One… two… three!" Leshawna jumped… Gwen didn't. This threw off Leshawna's balance and she landed on her side, almost rolling off the edge of the truck. She would've been doomed had it not been for Scott tossing his gun aside and grabbing her at the last second.

Gwen watched as Scott helped Leshawna into the truck and closed his hatch behind them, horrified at what had almost happened. Then she felt an arm swoop under her legs and wrap around her shoulders. Duncan was picking her up as he climbed onto the railing. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Saving your dumb ass!" he answered as he jumped, landing perfectly on his feet.

He dropped Gwen down into the still open hatch, Scott catching her in his arms, before he jumped in himself. Sierra, Jo, and B jumped down and climbed in after them. "That's everyone!" Dakota said. "Get us out of here, Honey Bear!"

"With pleasure." Sam replied. He hit the garage door button before shifting into reverse again. He barely waited for the door to fully open before stomping down on the gas pedal going back into the street. A quick turn and a shift into first gear, and they were off. The zombie horde chased after them, but was unable to keep up with the speed of even the bulky vehicle.

Gwen looked over to Leshawna who was sitting in the corner being looked over by Sierra and Jo for injuries or bites. Leshawna looked back at her. It wasn't hatred, or even distain in her eyes. Just… disappointment. "I'm sorry, Leshawna." Gwen said.

"Yeah." Leshawna said. "I bet you are."


	3. Chapter 2

(**A/N**) hey everyone. I present to you the long awaited second chapter of Undead Drama Mainland! I apologize for the wait, but I wanted to wait for TDRI to actually air so I could ge the personalities of the new characters right. again, I did end up changing some to better suit the story, but not too much. (and speaking of TDRI, is anyone else pissed that **[SPOILER]** B was eliminate 3rd! what the hell? he was like the best character!**[END SPOILERS]**. anyway, hope everyone enjoys this. my next update should be A Tale of Two Times, followed by TDH. after that, who knows.

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Chapter 2

"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, you'd better run, better run, outrun my gun. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, you'd better run, better run, faster than my bullet." Lightning quietly sang along as he listened to his mp3 player. He'd limited himself to one song a week on the device to make it last as long as possible, but after a month he found that the battery was already nearly half dead. Like everyone else in their camp, he missed the comforts and conveniences of their now collapsed society. His mp3 player was the one scrap of his old life that he'd managed to salvage, keeping it hidden from the others, knowing that if anyone found out the Boss Man would demand it, thinking that Cameron would be able to find a use for the battery.

Noticing a flashing light, Lightning turned his head toward the gate which he was guarding. It was a box truck sitting at the edge of an intersection across from the gate. It blinked its lights four times and then turned on its right blinker. The signal. After turning off his music, he dutifully opened the gate to let the others in. After closing the gate behind the truck, Lightning moved to the driver's side window, finding Sam there. "Sup, Heavy Metal." Lightning greeted. "So what happened with the Dust?"

"Got 'em in back." Sam replied.

"Really?" Lightning questioned.

"Yup." Dakota interjected, leaning out the window over Sam's lap. "The Boss wants to meet them."

"Huh. That's a…" he stops himself before completing the sentence, knowing just how wrong he would be. Everyone at their camp was like these guys in the beginning. This is just the first time in over a month that the boss had invited outsiders into their camp. "Well, go on ahead. He's around here some place." Sam nodded and shifted gears before pulling ahead.

"Did he call us Dust?" Courtney, sitting in the back cargo area with everyone else, asked as they drove on. "What did he mean by that?"

"It's slang we use for drifters like you." Scott explained, shuffling two rounds of ammo between his thumb and index finger. "You know. Dust in the wind?" Courtney only nods in response.

"So who exactly is this boss of yours?" Cody asked.

"His name is Alejandro." Sierra replied.

"You all seem to respect him a lot."

"Of course we do. He's the only reason half of us are alive." Jo said. "If it weren't for him B would've died the first week." B nodded in agreement, remembering that first week of the outbreak. Being the intelligent individual he was, he was faring pretty well against the zombie hordes despite his size. One day he'd been scoping out a farming supply store, planning to raid it for supplies. He'd scoped out all of the entrances, finding them all securely locked, but he managed to break in thanks to a pair of bolt cutters he had. He'd taken everything into account, thought of quite a few scenarios and prepared accordingly. One thing he hadn't prepared for, however, was the reason all of the doors were locked. Someone had trapped over two dozen zombies inside the building, and they were after B the second he opened the door. If Alejandro hadn't swooped in with Scott and Jo at the last second, he wouldn't be there today.

As they came to a stop, Sam and Dakota jumped out of the front seats and moved around to the back of the truck, opening up the cargo area and allowing everyone to hop out. Duncan and the others were surprised at what they saw as they took a look around. They expected to find themselves in what used to be a prison or a military base or some other secure location. But from the looks of it, they were on a college campus, or at least a fenced off part of one. There three buildings; two large ones, a large parking lot in between them, and a smaller building taking up corner of that. One of the larger buildings clearly used to be a dormitory, the other probably full of classrooms. The smaller one was less obvious, but Scott explained that was where Cameron did his work, and no one but he, Alejandro, and someone he called Napoleon were allowed inside. "After the virus started taking a serious toll, this part of campus was used as a last refuge for what remained of the city." He went on. "Between the two buildings, there was more than enough room to house all the survivors, provided that entire families shared a dorm room and five families stayed in the classrooms of the other building. Food was delivered daily by the military, and we were surviving, though not comfortably. But it was livable…" he stopped himself as old memories resurfaced. "At least until the food supply ran dry. Military trucks just stopped showing up. Never figured out why they didn't try getting us out of here in the first place… And to make things worse, the perimeter was breached shortly after. Some dumbass was racing away from a horde in a semi he hotwired. Lost control and ran straight through the fence. It was a massacre after that. The horde showed up and we only had blunt objects to defend ourselves with, since the government attack dogs confiscated all of our weapons. A lot of people died. And anyone who didn't ran off… Alejandro, Jo and I managed to survive. Barricaded ourselves in one of the top floor classrooms. Waited in there for three days with nothing to eat or drink, keeping watch on the area below through the window. When we couldn't stand it anymore, we grabbed whatever blunt objects we could find, caved in the skulls of any infected left in the area, and choked down whatever food and drinks we could find. After that we rebuilt the fence and we've been here ever since, taking in the occasional Dust if they seemed useful."

"And we seem useful?" Chris questioned.

Jo snorted. "Some of you."

While Jo, B, Scott, Sam, and Dakota went off to do their own thing, Sierra led Chris and the others over to the class building. A sign near the entrance read "Romero Science building." "Huh. That's ironic." Cody commented.

"Why?"Bridgette questioned.

"Romero. It's… never mind. Nerd thing."

Bridgette just shrugged as they continued inside.

The interior was typical of a university building; long halls with doors running down either side with the occasional bulletin board every now and then. What they found eerie, though, was how deserted it was. The nine of them must have been the only souls in the building, save for Alejandro, assumedly. They followed Sierra down a few hallways and into a room, the front wall missing, broken shards showing that it had once been plate glass. There was another small hallway in the back corner, a door at the end which Sierra led them through. Inside they found the remnants of a recreation room; a broken air hockey table in the corner, an entertainment center with a few chairs and couches surrounding it in one corner that may have once had a TV and videogame system but was now filled to the brim with books, a card table opposite of that, and in the center a billiards table. A pale, blonde girl, clad in a moss green sweater, a dark blue skirt, and violet stocking, leaned against the back wall next to a window, holding a pool cue in one hand. A tall, copper-skinned young man, with brown hair that came down to his jaw line and a soul patch sat in a seat nearby, a pool cue leaned against his chair. He wore a maroon button up shirt with a white wife-beater underneath, long dark gray pants with a belt, and a necklace with bull's head pendant. Another young man was leaned over the table, his cue in hand, with his back to them. He wore a pair of what appeared to be military issue pants, a bit too big for him, and a black tank top. They also saw that his hair was shaggy and golden blonde. A beige, wide brim hat sat on the edge of the table next to him.

"Ah, Sierra." The boy in the chair said as he stood up. "Good to see you. And these must be the drifters you called in about."

"Hi Sierra." The blonde girl greeted. "Hello everyone."

"Sup y'all?" the boy over the table called, not bothering to turn toward them.

"Would you all like to take a seat? Relax maybe?" Alejandro offered. "Or would you rather get down to business?"

"Business sounds good." Courtney suggested, crossing her arms.

Alejandro nodded. "But perhaps we could discuss this over some water. You all look a bit exhausted. Dawn, G, continue. I'll be back shortly."

Alejandro led the eight of them and Sierra back into the halls and into another room, a large conference table, chairs, and a water cooler inside. "It's not cold." Alejandro warned as he pulled a stack of red plastic cups from under the table, "But it safe to drink."

"That's all I need to hear!" Leshawna announced excitedly, grabbing a cup and heading straight for the water cooler. Everyone followed her example, filling their glasses and taking a seat at the table, Alejandro at its head with Sierra at his side.

"So I hear you found the Fridge." Alejandro stated before taking a sip. "Tried to take some food… OUR food…" His calm demeanor was suddenly gone, a stern, harsh one in its place. "I understand that these are desperate times, but I can't just let the lot of you take what you want. I've got seventeen mouths to feed here, and if we can keep the electricity on in that place, that warehouse could feed us all for over a year. Not well, but well enough."

"How are you keeping the electricity going?" Gwen questioned.

"I believe you've met our friend B, correct? He is quite resourceful. He managed to rig up solar panels on the roof of the building. They even track sunlight. But back to the matter at hand, I am willing to let you all take some food on your way out of town. I'm not a monster… but I can't allow you to take more than enough to feed you all for a week."

"Only a week's worth?" Heather demanded. "But—"

"A weeks worth." Alejandro repeated flatly. "And that's if you're conservative in your consumption. Now it's up to you. You're group can stay with us for a night and leave tomorrow morning with food… or you can try to play games with me, and I'll have you marched out of here at gun point and post round the clock guards at the Fridge. I apologize for how unfair I may seem, but my first and only duty is to my people. You're lucky that I'm being as generous as I am."

They all remained silent, no one daring to try to haggle with him as much as they wanted to, especially Gwen. She knew that if they took his offer, Leshawna and Bridgette would suffer, insisting that Gwen have some of their food thanks to her condition. She unconsciously moved her hand over her belly. She caught Alejandro noticing this, noticing his eyebrow twitching slightly as he eyed her. He was about to speak when the door swung open.

"Don't mind me, Boss Man. Just getting some H2O." It was G, the guy who had been bent over the pool table earlier. Jaws dropped when they saw his face, his hat now atop his head confirming to them that they weren't mistaking him for someone else."

"Geoff!" Bridgette exclaimed in astonishment, leaping out of her chair and hugging him hard, nearly tackling him to the ground.

"Bridgette?" Geoff questioned in disbelief, slowly moving his arms around her as if he thought she would turn to dust if he were too rough. "Cody, Gwen, Leshawna, Duncan, Courtney, Heather, Chris. What are you all doing here? I thought you all bit the big one back on the island."

"We thought the same about you, you animal!" Duncan laughed as he put one arm around his friend's shoulders and running his knuckles across his scalp.

"Geoff, you know these people?" Alejandro asked.

"Yeah." Geoff nodded. "They were some of the people I was supposed to be on that reality show with. How did you get off the island?"

"We built a raft." Chris explained. "How did YOU get off the island?"

"Well, Harold and I were attacked by a zombie Sasquatch and I blacked out. When I came to, Harold was dragging me back to camp. When we got there… we found… we thought you were all dead… we used one of the doors off a cabin to keep us afloat and we swam back to the mainland. Everything was fine at first, but within two weeks, well, take a look around. We ended up here about the same time and Alejandro took us in."

"So Harold's here too?" Leshawna asked, a bit eager.

"Yeah."

"Well hot dayum! Where is the little String-Bean?"

Geoff shrugged. Bridgette giggled. Same old Geoff. "I'm just glad you two are okay." She said.

"Well, this is certainly changes things, doesn't it?" Alejandro said, interrupting the reunion. "Such close friends with some of my own, I can't simply force you to leave. You're all welcome to stay… provided you earn your keep like everyone else."

"Seriously?" Heather questioned.

"Of course." Alejandro replied. "Geoff and Harold have more than proven themselves to us. I'm sure you'll all do the same." Heather nodded and turned away. There was something about this guy that she didn't trust. He was too smooth, and he changed his decision too quickly, both of which sounded like something she would do if she were up to something. "Geoff, show them to their rooms." Alejandro continued. "I'm going to do a few things and then go check on Cameron."

~DORM BUILDING~

"Welcome to Fuerte Mal Culo, everybody!" Geoff announced as they entered the dorm buildings. Feel free to take any room that isn't occupied. They all come with a bed and that's about it."

"Fuerte… Mal Culo…" Courtney scratched the back of her head, trying to remember what she could about high school Spanish. "Fort Bad Ass?"

"Well, what would you call it?"

Everyone laughed.

"Hey, Geoff. Who are these guys?"

Geoff looked down a hallway to find a boy and a girl approaching them. The boy was tall with bronze skin and spiked up hair, wearing long blue jeans and a lighter blue t-shirt. The girl was a bit shorter with pale skin and short, scarlet red hair put into low pigtails with a flower in it. She wore a tube top that matched her hair color, beige capri pants, and a black choker. "Hey Zoey. Mike." Geoff greeted. "Believe it or not, these are some of the people from the island me and Harold came from. Bridgette, Gwen, Leshawna, Courtney, Duncan, Cody, Heather, and Chris McClain."

"Wow, Chris McClain? Really?" Zoey asked. "I saw you on that figure skating contest. You were awesome."

"Well thanks." Chris said with his grin, relieved to finally find someone that recognized him.

"So is Alejandro letting these guys stay here?" Mike asked. "He hasn't done that since you and Harold showed up."

"Where is Harold, by the way?" Duncan snickered. "The nerd's overdue for a good wedgey." He suddenly yelped and rubbed his arm, Leshawna having punched him hard.

"I think he's working with Cameron right now." Zoey answered, chuckling a bit at Duncan's pain.

"Who exactly is this Cameron guy?" Heather asked. "I keep hearing about him and his 'work.'"

"Well, he's a really smart guy." Geoff explained. "From what I've been told, he graduated college before most of us were in high school. We don't see him much, since he's usually locked up in his workshop. As for his work, only Alejandro and Harold have any idea what goes on in there other than Cameron, but they won't say a word." Heather nodded. Her bad feeling about this place was only getting worse.

"Well, Alejandro is sending Zoey and I out on a recon job, so we'll see you guys later." With that, Mike and Zoey walked out the door.

"Are they…" Leshawna began.

"Oh yeah." Geoff answered with a smirk. "So, you guys go ahead and pick your rooms. I'll go fetch Harold." Geoff went to leave, but as he reached for the door, he paused and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, and… uh, try to avoid Anne Maria. She's… kind of unpleasant."

As the door closed behind Geoff, Duncan and Courtney immediately headed up the stairs, choosing a room on the second floor to share. Chris, not wanting to be rudely awoken by any recreational activities they might partake in, decided to stay on the first floor. Heather had the same idea, but as she opened went to open her chosen door, it suddenly opened itself and some_thing_ stepped out. "The hell do you want?" the girl demanded. She was a bit shorter than Zoey, at least until her unnaturally solid hair was factored in. while it reached down to her mid back, it also stuck up off her head about four inches. Her hair also didn't move… at all… as if she used an entire can of hairspray on it daily. She also had what appeared to be a bad spray on tan and too much makeup. She wore a hot pink tube top, light blue jean capris, and large hoop earrings.

"You must be Anne Maria…" Heather stated, not sure of how to react.

The other girl glared at her for a second. "I don't like you." She finally said.

"Believe me, the feeling is already mutual."

"Oh, you had better back up, tooth pick! You are already on my shit list!"

"You wanna—"

"Heather!" Cody called out. The tall girl looked over her shoulder, finding her companions glaring at her, some with their arms crossed. Heather just snorted and stomped down the other hallway, opening a door and slamming it shut.

"Well ain't she a big ball of joy." Anne Maria grumbled. She suddenly exited her room and approached the others. "High. I'm Anne Maria. Nice to meet you."

Cody was a bit put off by her sudden change in attitude, but took her extended hand anyway. "Hi." He said.

"So you must be new meat, eh? Been awhile since Alejandro's taken anyone in. I'm kinda surprise."

"Well, he was only going to let us stay for a night before he found out we know Harold and Geoff." Bridgette explained.

"Oh you guys already know Napoleon and G?" Anne Maria asked. She took a closer look at Bridgette, and a glance at Leshawna as well. "Oh! You must be who they were always talking about. Heads up there, Blondie. G's got a BIG crush on you." Bridgette was taken aback by how direct this girl was being. She'd already figured out that much, but hearing it out loud was still a bit outrageous to her.

"Well, anyway, I'm going back to sleep. Alejandro put me on a dawn 'til dusk job tonight. Oh, and if you haven't been told, avoid the last door on the left of this hall. That's Staci's room."

"What's wrong with Staci?" Gwen asked.

"Well, see, I knew her before all this started and she was a real chatterbox. Kinda annoying. But ever since she saw her family turned, she hasn't said a word. She spends all of her time in her room unless she's on a job for Alejandro, and she doesn't like to be disturbed.

"Well… thanks for the warning, I guess." Leshawna said. Anne Maria just nodded before shutting her door.

The four remained silent for a few moments after that, before Cody started towards the stairs to choose a room. But before he could take three steps, the doors suddenly burst open, Harold standing just on the other side. He looked the same as before, besides his new attire (a white lab coat over a black t-shirt which read "I survived the zombie apocalypse" in red letters, baggy blue jeans, and a black bandana with a flame design tied around his head)."Leshawna! Cody! Everyone! How—"

"We'll explain later, String-Bean. Now here and give Leshawna a hug!" He didn't hesitate in doing just that. The others gathered around him in a frenzy of hugs and greetings, Duncan, Courtney, and even Chris and Heather soon rejoining them. Geoff just waited in the doorway, smiling.

This was probably the best day of the apocalypse so far.

~CAMERON'S WORK SHOP~

"Cameron!" Alejandro called out as he entered Cameron's work shop.

"In back!" a voice called out.

Alejandro stepped through the door at the back of the front room and entered the back, finding Cameron looking over a about two dozen rats in cages with a clipboard in hand. He was a short, black skin, and scrawny. He wore a pair of glasses, a red sweat shirt with a white lab coat over it, and yellow shorts. "How's everything going my friend?"

"Better than expected, honestly." Cameron commented without looking away from his work. "It's been two weeks since the injections. As expected, the infected subjects died upon introduction of the vaccine synthesized from Subject 1's blood. What does surprise me, however, is that subjects that weren't previously infected are showing almost no side effects."

"Almost?" Alejandro questioned.

Cameron sighed and looked up to his companion. After about a week, Harold had the idea to put an infected rat and a vaccinated rat in the same cage, to test the vaccine's durability against a post injection introduction of the virus. Our findings were… disturbing, to say the least. The infected rat immediately attacked the vaccinated one. The vaccine seemed to work at first. The second rat put up a vain fight and nearly died, but not from the virus. What surprised us, however, was a sudden increase in aggression and energy in the vaccinated rat after a few minutes. It killed the infected rat, and after autopsying both we discovered that the vaccinated one had greatly increased muscle mass."

"Interesting." Alejandro said, contemplating what Cameron was telling him. "So the when the vaccine has some kind of 'hyper-steroid' affect on the subject if the virus is introduced second."

"Yes." Cameron agreed. "I'm reluctant to call this a success. There's no doubting that it works, at least in rats… but I shudder to think—"

"How long until we can begin human testing?" Alejandro interrupted.

"What?" Cameron demanded. "You can't be serious! Even if it's just one side effect, it's a very serious one! I don't even want to imagine what kind of rampage a person would go on if that happened to them! Al, we need to take this back to square one!"

Alejandro suddenly tensed up, his face struggling to keep straight. "What did you just say?" he growled.

Cameron was trembling. "We… need to start over." Cameron half squeaked.

Alejandro sighed and looked up to some of the caged rats. He opened up one of the cages and reached in. "No! That one's infected!" Cameron warned. But somehow, Alejandro managed to grab it without being bitten.

"Cameron…" Alejandro said as he approached the boy with the undead rat in hand. "What do you think the last thoughts of this vermin were?"

"I-I have n-n-no idea." Cameron stuttered, shrinking back and pressing himself against the wall as his companion came closer.

"Really? Because I do." He stretched out his arm, holding the rodent only inches from the other boy's face. The Rat squealed and snapped its jaws, the scent of food overwhelming its one track mind. "I think that its last thoughts would've been… if anyone could save others from what it is going through now, then it would want them to do that regardless of the possible consequences."

"P-please." Cameron pleaded.

Alejandro suddenly stepped back and replaced the rat back in its cage. "But you do have a point." He admitted. "I'm giving you three months. After that we move on to human testing… whether you've fixed the problem or not. And Cameron..."

"Y-yeah?"

"Never call me Al again."


End file.
